Thankful
by Sango
Summary: Just a short piece for the holiday, set during the Saiyajin no Ouji's first Thanksgiving at Capsule Corp. One-shot.


The harsh laughter had an edge to it, broken and razor-sharp, and it sliced into my heart as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "Thankful. Feh. What have *I* to be thankful for?" He shifted, and continued absently, more to himself than I. "Once, I was Prince of a strong, thriving race. Now, I am one of only two. Once, I had purpose and a goal -- a mission. Now, my mission is thwarted, the prize taken by another and only ashes remain for me, of the dreams burnt down to nothing. Once, immortality was at my fingertips, and now...now, I am here with nothing, no rank, no wealth, no holdings, but only the royal title from a dead monarchy that my pride will not allow me to relinquish: Saiyajin no Ouji." Finally, he fell silent, gazing fiercely into the night sky, as if somewhere within he might find something he lost, a long time ago.   
  
It pained me to see him that way, almost vulnerable, yet strangely enough I found myself angry, with a strong undercurrent of hurt for a reason I couldn't fathom. Before I knew it, I had grabbed his hand in one of mine, above the wrist, and turned his face toward me with the other. The corded tendons in his arm were like steel cables beneath the burning skin, and his head turned more out of wondering shock that I touched him, than from any effort of mine. I could not have moved it if he had not allowed me to do so. The fire that burned so hot and determinedly within him lent a dark glow to the obsidian eyes, like burning charcoal lit from behind by tongues of flame. For an instant he just stared at me, until the familiar frown re-appeared and he growled, "Woman, you take dangerous liberty--"   
  
I shut him up with one finger. "No, I think that you will listen." I leaned closer, and his eyes widened, ever so slightly, before narrowing even more. "It seems to me that perhaps you have much to be thankful for. Did you not spend most of your life, almost up until our first meeting on Namek, under the rule of that creature Frieza? I can't imagine that such a thing could have remotely been pleasant, being captive to the capricious whims and demands of that one. He seemed a cruel master." Perhaps it was my imagination, but he seemed to flinch almost imperceptably at that. "And yet now...you are free. None hunt you or order you about, and your will is your own. You may not have wealth, but is there anything you lack? Has my family not provided you with everything that you could want, including methods of training that far surpass anything we ever gave Goku?" Still he looked angry, inflamed by my forwardness in touching him, I supposed. But he did not jerk away, instead he seemed almost to be holding his breath, shaking slightly with some suppressed emotion. Anger? Rage?   
  
Desire?   
  
Being so close to him sent tiny chills down my spine, one after the other, and my skin tingled where it met his. The warmth of him permeated even my clothing, making me want to press myself even closer, until the heat burnt into my core. A heaviness gathered in the pit of my stomach, a fierce desire I had never known before I invited this wild princeling into my home. But as ever, I still could not tell if he wanted me at all, or even noticed that I was a woman. That I wanted him.   
  
My voice was huskier than I would have liked, betraying my ardent desire to my own ears. I only hoped it were not so apparent to him. "Before...had you any friends? Any who would do something for you, because they wanted to? Without being asked, because you needed it, not from fear or a command." I could not continue looking at him and still say the words I was determined to, and instead began studying the ground. "I would do such a thing for you, if I knew what it was. Since you came, I have tried to be your friend, though you rebuffed and reviled me." My wayward fingers traced mindless patterns on the silken skin of his forearm, and the muscles underneath clenched even tighter, if that were that possible. His breath caught imperceptibly, and I swallowed. "It hurt, before I realized that you knew no other way to act. Then, I was determined to be your first friend, at any cost, unless you killed me first." That was my feeble attempt at humor, but he didn't crack a smile. Unsurprisingly.   
  
From somewhere within I tapped into a fresh supply of nerve, and moved closer to him, hands against the wall he leaned against, on either side of him. I spoke quickly, before he flung me away and left. There was no way I could hold him anywhere he didn't want to be. "I wanted to be your friend...but along the way, I began to want much more than that..." Taking a deep breath, like a cliff diver before attempting a plunge from heights beyond her courage, I took his face in my hands and kissed him.   
  
After jumping like a man touched by a live wire, he moved forward and encased my arms in a steel grip--   
  
But instead of flinging me from him, he crushed me against him as if an unknown force tried to pry me away, returning the kiss with a blistering passion only hinted at on the surface of this fiery, complicated warrior. His hands ran though my hair gingerly, as if it were some delicate length of cloth he longed to feel but feared to damage, the motion surprisingly inept, as though the act of such a careful touch was foreign to him. I cared not, and simply reveled in the embrace that I had wanted longer than I could remember. The journey to Namek had ended long ago, but it was only at that moment that I truly felt as though I had returned home. 


End file.
